Liverpool

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game at Fulham (14:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Slot confirmed Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez "will not be back in the coming weeks" and Conor Bradley "will have to wait and see if he will be with the squad on Sunday."

• On Alisson's fitness: "For Ali, it is a concussion so you have to follow the protocol and tick boxes. The moment he does, he will be in goal."

• Asked if Curtis Jones could continue at right-back after playing there in Wednesday's win over Everton, Slot said: "Curtis is an option because he did well. It depends if players are coming back. It is good to have versatile players in different positions, Curtis is definitely one of them and has a skillset where he can defend and attack. Some want to stay in their comfort zone but Curtis wants the challenge."

• He added a squad fitness update: "The boys still haven't come in yet [for training]. I hope because [Alexis] Mac Allister finished the game that it's all good but sometimes adrenaline can help you and when you've had a sleep you do feel something. I hope everyone is ready to play again from the ones who were on the pitch yesterday."

• On Wednesday's goalscorer Diogo Jota's "special quality": "For most players, if they think they can score, they get mixed up in their head. He stays calm in those moments and knows where he has to shoot and what the goalkeeper might expect."

• On the PGMOL saying the decision not to send off James Tarkowski for the challenge on Mac Allister was a mistake: "It's always good that if they think they made a mistake, they acknowledge that. We all know mistakes are being made in a football match and it's good they acknowledged. But it was so clear - so many pundits who are not Liverpool fans were clear about it as well."

• On how close Liverpool feel to winning the Premier League: "We felt yesterday how hard it is to win a Premier League game. It tells you that with eight games to go, every game is a challenge - starting with Fulham, who are having a very good season as well. We are not working on theories about how many points - we are taking the challenge of Fulham."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on Liverpool's Premier League win over against Everton.

Here are some of your comments:

Liverpool fans

Tommy: Hard-won game with Everton parking the bus and time-wasting. Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah's form has dropped dramatically and both were carried throughout the match while Andy Robertson and Ibou Konate were best at the back. Luis Diaz was like a wasp at a picnic and Dominik Szoboszlai never stopped running. We do need to play better though.

Tyra: Not a great performance but we'll take the three points. If one of our players did what James Tarkowski did, it would have been a straight red immediately without any need for VAR. Ridiculous.

Ken: It was never going to be easy against this Everton team and their tactics so it feels even more satisfying to come out on top after a war of attrition. The team was the star here in battling for every ball. That said, the standard of officiating on the pitch and in the VAR booth was woeful again.

Tim: On the whole we deserved the win but I was concerned how easy our centre-backs were beaten by Beto. Poor defending by both at times and they are world class . And what has happened to Salah? It was like playing with 10 men. That said three hard-fought points and we move on.

Yusuf: Great way to bounce back from a difficult period and no better opponent than our enemies across Stanley Park. Diaz gave 100% throughout and it was a well-taken goal from Jota. And please cut Salah some slack - he has been quiet recently but that is just natural - he's not going to score or assist every game. Just need to keep the machine going for another eight games.

Everton fans

Lee: A decent hard-working performance, and definitely a red card! But the game was won by a goalscorer, which sadly is something we lack! Tough run of games to play but it's in our own hands to stay up.

Mozza: Decent performance but was expecting more. Doucoure and Harrison were a complete waste of time and should not get on the pitch again this season. We should play Broja or Chermiti instead of Beto if they are going to be the future.

Jeff: We could - and might even should - have been ahead with Beto's chance. That's the crucial moment in the match for me. Not the two VAR decicions. But on those matters: Tarkowski was lucky to get away with a yellow and he defended clumsily for their goal. Instead of critising the VAR for a possible offside, we should rather be critical at Tarkowski. He has become a liability this season.

Barry: The right result. We didn't create too much and the massive difference of Liverpool's spend on their squad compared to ours ultimately showed through. Might have been different if Beto had scored rather than hitting the post, but the gulf in class will need to be closed if we hope to get anywhere near European spots, starting with a major overhaul this summer.

Alan: Not the best performance from Everton but considering the injuries list it wasn't bad. I'll take a 1-0 defeat at Anfield by the champions elect. But we must invest in the summer.

• Support a different club? Find and follow your team here

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Even Everton manager David Moyes considered his captain James Tarkowski "lucky" to stay on the pitch.

Explaining the decision, the Premier League Match Centre said on X: "The referee's call of yellow card for a reckless foul by Tarkowski was checked by the VAR, with contact on the follow through after Tarkowski had played the ball deemed to be reckless."

The key word here is "reckless", which according to the laws of the game merits a yellow card rather than a red.

However, Liverpool - and many onlookers - felt Tarkowski's challenge was not just reckless but also was made with excessive force.

According to law 12, as explained on the Football Association's website, "a tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play".

It continues: "Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play."

More on the talking points over here

Image source, Getty Images

The earliest date Liverpool could win their 20th league title is 20 April, when they play Leicester away.

The Reds, who have lost just once in the league this season, need 13 points out of a possible 24 to guarantee the title, with Arsenal only able to obtain a maximum of 85 points.

To win in 17 days' time, Arsenal need to lose their next two matches against Everton and Brentford, and third-placed Nottingham Forest need to drop points against either Aston Villa or Everton, with Liverpool beating Fulham and West Ham in that time.

That would leave Arsenal 18 points behind Liverpool with 18 points left to play for, and a point against Leicester would be enough for Liverpool to claim the title.

Statisticians Opta give Liverpool a 99.2% chance of winning the title. Arsenal, who are 12 points behind, have just a 0.8% chance of finishing top.

Twelve points could also be enough given Liverpool's goal difference is vastly superior to Arsenal's (currently +43 to +30).

Image source, The Mirror / The Times

The Merseyside derby rarely disappoints and Wednesday's didn't either.

Diogo Jota's goal, which Everton boss David Moyes insisted should have been ruled out for offside, was all that separated the two sides at Anfield as Liverpool edged closer a 20th top-flight title.

But before that moment of magic from Jota, there was another controversial incident with Everton defender James Tarkowski fortunate to stay on the pitch for his challenge on Alexis Mac Allister.

Tarkowski received only a yellow card and the video assistant referee (VAR) decided not to upgrade the tackle to a red card.

While praising Jota, Thursday's back pages are labelling it a "horror tackle" and questioning how it was not a red card.

Image source, Mail / Daily Telegraph

Highlights and analysis from nine midweek Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Arsenal 2-1 Fulham

• Nottingham Forest 1-0 Man Utd

• Liverpool 1-0 Everton

• Newcastle 2-1 Brentford